Breaking the silence on financial abuse of the elderly before it breaks them

Community-level intervention crucial as seniors may confide in a friend or neighbour

- Theresa Tan Senior Social Affairs Correspondent

Elder financial abuse thrives in the shadows, and one of its strongest enablers is the veil of silence surrounding the problem.

Seniors suffer in silence for years, often because the abusers are their own children.

Some are physically hit for refusing monetary demands, while others find, to their horror, that their bank accounts have been emptied by their loved ones.

The seniors may pass their ATM card to a family member to help them withdraw money, or they have a joint account with their child, who takes the money without the senior’s knowledge or consent.

In Singapore, elder financial abuse remains a hidden, under-reported problem. And silence allows the abuse to perpetuate.

The Republic’s rapidly ageing society means a growing pool of seniors are potentially vulnerable to being exploited when their mental capacity declines with age or illness.

Amid this grim reality, the banking sector is developing new industry guidelines to better protect elderly clients from being financially abused by their loved ones.

But seniors must speak up. Keeping mum will only normalise abuse and suggest that it is acceptable.

A wider societal effort will help to raise public awareness of elder financial abuse, and signal to seniors that help is available, even if they are hesitant to speak to their own family members.

Among abuse victims, such as spouses and children, social workers note that seniors are the most reluctant to speak up against violence.

This is because they fear getting their children into trouble with the law, losing the relationship or feel too ashamed to seek help.